Straight from the Suggestion Box, Mr. Blank asked about touch-up paint and/or the scratch remover stuff you see on infomercials and if it actually works.  Specifically, our question person asked if the "Fix It" product sold by the late Billy Maze actually works as advertised.  You see, the commercial shows an actor scratching the paint of a car with a key or something and then using a pen shaped applicator, applies what looks like a thin coat of paint, and BAMM, scratch is gone.

 

I'm not an auto body expert, but here is what I know, if a scratch is deep enough that your finger nail would get caught when rubbing your finger by it, then there is a good chance it can't be buffed out.  Not many people realize that their vehicle has a layer of primer, a layer of paint, and layer of clear coat which protects the paint and provides shine and ability to buff.  Now, if the scratch just breaks the clearcoat, then this product can easily fill the scratch, giving the appearance that the repair is complete, when really, the paint was never compromised, rather the missing clearcoat was just backfilled by the product.  If the scratch is so deep that the paint is removed, then chances are good further body repair will be required.

 

I've had my Acura for over five years now and I've been lucky that there hasn't been any serious body damage or large dents/scratches.  One of my favorite car detail products has been my rubbing compound, specifically from Meguiar's.  Any time I would see, what appeared to be a scratch, I would always try using the rubbing compound to buff out the blemish, and in most cases it would work.  If and when you get a scratch that is too deep to buff out or cover up with Billy Maze's "Fix It", then chances are you will be taking your automobile to a body shop.

 

Lastly, talking about dings, if you have a ding in your door, quarter panel, hood, etc. that is the diameter size of a quarter or smaller, than there is a great chance it can be repaired by paintless dent removal which can be performed by most any body shop for around $100.  If the ding is larger than a quarter and/or has broken the paint, then you will need to have more extensive body work done that could cost you hundreds of dollars.

 

 

This is a picture I took of my Acura TSX right after I bought my new Cannon Rebel SLR. I have been trying to figure out a good  time to post it to the site, and I guess now is as good a time as ever. I used a shutter speed of 1/160 and an aperture at 6.3.  It has been slightly modified in Photoshop to enhance the storm clouds in the background and in the rear view mirror.